Brooke Eden Joins Congressman David Cicilline For A Conversation About Equality

Brooke Eden joined Congressman David Cicilline, Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, this week for a conversation surrounding LGBTQ+ equality and representation.

Moderated by Tom Clees, VP, Federal Public Policy at RIAA, Eden and Congressman Cicilline dove deep into a number of topics for the RIAA Pride Panel. They discussed their own experiences discovering their true selves, pointing to the things they learned and sharing how important it is to see other LGBTQ+ folks visibly succeeding. Eden discussed how music allows her to tell her authentic story, and how her newest track “Left You For Me” is arguably the most honest chapter in that story to date. Eden’s conversation with Cicilline is part of her ongoing “Music Matters with RIAA” partnership.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Brooke on the ‘Music Matters with RIAA’ program,” says Jackie Jones, VP of Artist and Industry Relations at RIAA. “Bringing Brooke’s powerful story out into the community and connecting artists and policymakers for authentic, honest moments is the perfect way to celebrate Pride and allow the worlds of music and politics to learn and grow together.”

Over the last few years, Eden has used her personal journey to self-acceptance to create music with the message that it is okay to be who you are. Her new song “Left You For Me,” is the first to release from her upcoming EP, Choosing You, dropping July 29 via BBR Music Group.

 

 

BMI Signs K. Michelle

K. Michelle officially joined BMI on Tuesday night (June 28) during her performance at the PRO’s monthly Bluebird showcase. Shannon Sanders, Executive Director of Creative, welcomed her to the BMI family and had the honor of introducing her as the newest BMI writer.

“We are proud to welcome K. Michelle into the BMI family,” Sanders said. “Besides being her PRO representation, we look forward to supporting her during this exciting time for her career.”

A singer, songwriter and actress born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Michelle is known for her time on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta. She has had success for songs including “Love ‘Em All,” “More Issues Than Vogue,” and “Just Like Jay.” She has collaborated with fellow hip-hop and R&B artists such as Juicy J, Missy Elliott and Ruben Studdard, and most recently with A-list Nashville writer Ernest.

Michelle has garnered over 500,000 monthly Spotify listeners and her first country album is expected in the coming months.

 

Fisk Jubilee Singers, Allison Russell, O.N.E The Duo Celebrate The Ryman’s 130th Birthday

The Fisk Jubilee Singers helped Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium celebrate its 130th birthday on Tuesday night (June 28), while commemorating the simultaneous 130th anniversary of the Singers’ first performance on the Ryman stage.

The multi-award-winning a cappella choral ensemble, who celebrated its 150th birthday in October 2021 and earned the Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album, joined forces with 3x Grammy nominee Allison Russell and newcomers O.N.E The Duo for “Jubilation! An Enduring Musical Union.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit Fisk Jubilee Singers Endowed Scholarship Fund. The evening’s celebration was followed by an unveiling ceremony of a limited-edition book, Heritage & Honor: 150 Year Story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at Fisk University.

 

The Other Nashville Society Celebrates Five Years, Forms First Leadership Group

The Other Nashville Society (TONS), a 1,300+ member organization dedicated to connecting and elevating Music City’s non-country creators and industry professionals, is celebrating its fifth birthday.

To celebrate, the organization has formed its first Leadership Group, a select team of TONS members to come alongside the co-founders and provide a new perspective for the future. The Leadership Group is made up of Jacki Artis (Social Impact Manager, UTA), Jeanette Porcello (A&R, Atlantic Records), Justin Causey (BlackCity Management), and Nick Maiale (Founder/CEO, jump.global).

“We’re celebrating 5 years, but we’re really just getting started. And we knew that in order for TONS to level up, we needed new energy and new ideas in the room,” explains Josh Collum, TONS co-founder. “The thing that’s exciting is the Leadership Group’s diverse backgrounds. Jacki has deep ties to government and city leaders. Jeanette has some of the best A&R ears in Nashville. Causey is leading the city’s Hip Hop resurgence. And Nick literally knows everyone, from his days with the Music Biz conference. What a dream team.”

Founded on May 17, 2017 by Ally Venable, Katie Fagan, Holley Maher, Mark Abramowitz and Collum, TONS has struck strategic partnerships with Apple Music, AWAL, Bonnaroo, Red Bull, Music Biz, Twitch, Soundstripe, Sofar Sounds, CDbaby, Reeperbahn, and the City of Nashville. It has also directly supported some of Nashville’s non-country artists, including Lennon Stella, Joy Oladokun, Jake Wesley Rogers, Sara Kays, Charlotte Sands, and Gayle.

“We’re so proud of what TONS has become in 5 short years. In some ways, it’s overwhelming how quickly it blew up. But in other ways, it’s obvious why it exploded,” Fagan recalls. “There was a rapidly growing community of creators and industry professionals in this city that had no place to call home. TONS became that home.”

Willie Nelson‘s new book, Me and Paul: Untold Tales of a Fabled Friendship, tells the tale of Paul English, Nelson’s longtime drummer, friend and bodyguard/guardian angel. The book will be available from Harper Horizon on Sept. 20.

Me and Paul: Untold Tales of a Fabled Friendship chronicles the pair’s unbreakable bond that lasted until English’s death at 87, on Feb. 11, 2020.

For 70 years, English served in a variety of roles in Nelson’s life: as the steady musical heartbeat in the band, the gun-toting bodyguard, the tour accountant, and more. The country legend first immortalized English with the song “Me & Paul.” Penned for the drummer in the early 1970s, the song became the title track for Nelson’s 1985 studio album and a fan-favorite in his live sets.

“There’s something about my friendship with Paul that reminds me of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Tom was more civilized and Huck was wilder. Although I was plenty wild at age twenty-two, I’d have to say Paul was wilder,” Nelson recalls. “Like Tom and Huck, though, we became a team. Nothing could or would ever separate us. If someone tries to tell my story without putting Paul by my side, don’t bother reading it.”

Nelson wrote the book with Grammy-winning music journalist/biographer/author David Ritz, who collaborated with the singer-songwriter on It’s a Long Story: My Life and Me (2015) and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band (2020).